This week in Rugby Bullets it’s all about Leinster taking on Northampton Saints in Croke Park.

Leinster in Croke Park

• The atmosphere in Croke Park will be incredible, before the game starts. From there it depends on what happens. While many at the game will be die-hard supporters of either side, there will also be some sunshine supporters. 80,000 is a lot of people, and 80,000 quiet people is as notable as 80,000 screaming people.
  • From Northampton’s point of view they’ll be looking to score early and silence the crowd. While Leinster know they can come from behind a dead atmosphere won’t help. Suddenly sunshine supporters are on their phones and going for pints rather than getting behind the team.
    • There was a faux controversy stirred up that fans wouldn’t be allowed drink alcohol in their seats during the game, and that this was down to it not being GAA. In reality it’s the exact same case for GAA matches.
  • Having been going to games at the RDS for a long time through ups and downs, I’ve seen it packed and half-full. When things weren’t going well before the 2015 World Cup it was easy to get a ticket. In and around the time of winning European Cups it was fashionable again to support Leinster. Well, not so much support as it was fashionable to go to Leinster matches, have pints and take selfies. So that’s the concern about the atmosphere for Croke Park, while there will be a lot of serious supporters there for the game, there will also be a large number there for the occasion who don’t contribute positively to the atmospher.
• While writing this the team hasn’t been announced yet but here’s some thoughts on selection:
  • This isn’t a game for a 6:2 split, it’s a game for a 5:3 with a few versatile backs.
  • Gary Ringrose and Jimmy O’Brien are both apparently available while Hugo Keenan is likely out. I would say it’s too soon to bring in Ringrose or O’Brien. Ringrose would be a notable omission but he wasn’t having a good year before that and the Osbourne/Henshaw partnership has worked really well.
    • The ideal way to bring Ringrose back the following week against Ospreys and let him play the next week against Ulster. If there’s a European Cup final to be played by that time he’ll be in contention. Then there’s the Connacht match leading into the URC play-offs.
  • Jimmy O’Brien would be a good versatile back to have on the bench but it may be a risk considering how little he has played. Ciarán Frawley will no doubt be in the squad, so a lot depends on whether he s flyhalf cover or if Harry Byrne takes up that roll.
  • Ross Byrne has earned his start. If everyone’s fit it makes sense to stick with one starting 10 for the big games of the season. What those big games are depends on if there’s a European Cup final to play in, but regardless Leinster need to win their 3 remaining URC matches to get a home semi-final and avoid a potential trip to Munster, Glasgow or Bulls before the final. Ross had an excellent game against La Rochelle and showed why at one point he was Ireland’s next 10.
    • Ross is hardly going to play all of the remaining games, but should probably be involved in some way in most of them. Sam Prendergast showed he was the real deal as one of the few bright sparks in South Africa. He deserves a bit of time in the remaining games.
  • All will become clearer after Saturday in terms of how many games Leinster have left to play, right now it’s 4, 5, 6 or 7. Regardless all of them are important and the squad will have to be used right. While Leinster have benefited from rotation under Leo Cullen, this time of the season calls for picking a core group of players who are going to be involved going forward, that decision needs to be made after Saturday as to who they are.
• Northampton won’t be an easy team to play against. Leinster have to avoid making the game overly lose and giving away cheap possession. It feels as though going in ahead at halftime will have much more of an impact of the final result than it did when the sides met in the 2011 final.